Thursday, April 25, 2013

Flagler Sheriffs deputies arrest Orlando man after pursuit Wednesday night, Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies arrested an Orlando man late Wednesday after a pursuit ended in St. Johns County. Flagler County Sheriff’s spokesperson Lt. Bob Weber says the Flagler Sheriff’s Office was notified of the pursuit shortly before 11 Wednesday night. The incident had started earlier in the Orlando area, and the Silver BMW being pursued was reported northbound on I-95 at LPGA Boulevard in Daytona Beach late Wednesday. An officer with the Bunnell Police Department then spotted the vehicle northbound on U.S. 1 at the south Flagler County line, at speeds estimated at between 30 and 100 miles per hour. Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies joined the pursuit along U.S. 1.

Lt. Weber reports that stop sticks were used at three locations along U.S. 1, which deflated three of the tires on the vehicle. The car then entered a construction zone, running on three tire rims, in the area of Matanzas Woods Parkway. The Sheriff’s Office says the car almost hit a construction vehicle and its operator before continuing north on U.S. 1. As the car entered St. Johns County, deputies from that county also joined the pursuit.

Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies used a Precision Immobilization Technique, or PIT maneuver, on the vehicle in the 7600 block of U.S. 1. The car then spun out into a ditch and rolled slowly onto its roof. The Sheriff’s Office says the BMW was traveling at less than 30 miles per hour when the PIT maneuver was initiated. Deputies removed a male driver and female passenger from the vehicle. A crash investigation was also conducted by the Florida Highway Patrol.

Lt. Weber reports that Flagler County deputies charged 47-year old Thomas J. Loncala of Orlando with Aggravated Fleeing and Eluding, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Trafficking in Methamphetamine with a Firearm. The Sheriff’s Office says deputies found and seized $3396 in U.S. currency, a .25 caliber Raven semi-automatic handgun, 5 ounces of crystal methamphetamine and 5.8 grams of cannabis from the inside of the car. Loncala was transported to Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine to be examined for reported shoulder pain. No charges were filed on the female passenger in the vehicle who was released at the scene.